TW: This article discusses issues such as rape, sexual abuse, and torture by electrocution
China has been reported to be detaining Uighur ethnic minorities in concentration camps in order to combat what they believe to be religious extremism. What is the purpose of these camps? How are Uighur Muslims being treated inside them? What can we do to stop this?
The issue of religious extremism in the Chinese region of Xinjiang is believed to have vanished since President Xi’s introduction of concentration camps. Over the past couple of years, the mistreatment of Uighur Muslims detained in these camps has caught the attention of many human rights activists. Like myself, we all pledge to end the religious persecution of ethnic minorities.
What are China’s re-education camps?
In the eyes of human rights activists, China’s re-education system resembles similarities to previous concentration camps within our history. An extensive list of claims have been highlighted within reports on the morality of the re-education programme, such as:
- Being forced to consume pork which is against the Islamic religion, as well as forced to speak Mandarin
- Express loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party through patriotic songs and lessons
- Gang rape, torture, and organ harvesting
China’s attempt at counter-terrorism is effectively stripping Uighur Muslims and ethnic minorities of their basic human rights, freedom of speech, and religious beliefs.
How are Uighur Muslims being treated in these camps?
Recent evidence from a 2021 BBC article has revealed the deep extremity of the situation for Uighur Muslims trapped inside these camps. A female detainee, Ziawudun, spoke about her personal experience as prisoner to the Chinese Communist party. She was exposed to accounts of gang rape, prostitution, forced sterilisation, and torture by electrocution.
Ziawudun voiced that during her time inside China’s re-education camps, she saw men in suits who removed the prettiest women to the “black room” used specifically for gang rape.
She spoke about her personal experience inside the black room where Ziawudun was condemned for being on her period and bleeding whilst having sex: “They had an electric stick, I did not know what it was, and it pushed inside my genital tact, torturing me with an electric shock.”
The terrifying thing is, Ziawudun’s story is only one of a thousand Muslim women detained in China’s re-educational system. What else is going on inside China’s re-education camps?
How can we use our platforms to spread awareness?
So far, human rights activists and those against the oppression of China’s re-education system, have been using platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter to educate society on the issues of these camps. Even though these methods have proven to be highly influential and have grasped the attention of government organisations, is it enough to preserve the lives of the innocent Muslims in Xinjiang?
So far, activists have been able to influence economic factors and trade deals with China, standing against their camps. As a result, the US have blocked exports tomato products and cotton from China in response to human trafficking, child labour, and other human rights abuses. However, more recently with the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been problematic for countries to limit trade deals.
What can we do to impact China’s re-educational programme?
We can continue to educate wider and younger audiences on social media platforms through Instagram stories, Twitter threads, and engaging TikTok videos. This will allow more people to actively engage with the plight of Uighur Muslims.
As well as this, we can continue to sign petitions to initiate government action against the Chinese Government.
Here are some petitions on change.org:
https://www.change.org/p/pbb-help-muslims-in-china-ughyur
However silent and repressed Uighur Muslims in China may be, as a society, we should listen to what detainees are telling us. Therefore, we will continue to educate wider audiences on the particulars of China’s re-education camps.
Charlotte Smith
Featured Image via Kuzzat Altay via Unsplash. Image license can be found here. No changes were made to this image.
